


When the Morning Comes

by ShenanigansEnsue



Series: Shenanigans and Imagines [2]
Category: The Magnificent Seven (2016)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-21
Updated: 2017-06-21
Packaged: 2018-11-16 21:43:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11261598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShenanigansEnsue/pseuds/ShenanigansEnsue
Summary: The night before the battle of Rose Creek, you and Vasquez come to terms with your feelings towards one another.





	When the Morning Comes

           It was the eve before the battle of Rose Creek.  Goodnight had just left town which left Chisolm, Red Harvest, Horne, Billy, Faraday, Vasquez and yourself among the guns hired by Mrs. Cullen to defend the town.  It wasn’t so much a strategic set back so much as an emotional one. It suddenly became very apparent that one or more of this odd group of mercenaries you had grown to care about over the last few weeks would be dead by tomorrow.  Everyone drank, and made jokes, but the sense of doom held silently over everyone’s heads.

            It was almost a relief when Sam suggested everyone try to get some early shut eye.  You clamored up to bed, making the proper goodnights to everyone before entering your room. 

           You knew before your body hit the mattress you weren’t going to sleep that night. Still, you made a valiant effort.   You laid down.  You closed your eyes and waited for sleep to take you, but nothing happened.  You rolled to the corner of the bed pressed against the wall and cocooned yourself in the blankets, but that didn’t work either. Eventually you simply gave up.  You kicked off the blankets, put on your coat, and walked out the door of the saloon.

            The night air was comfortably cool and the stars shone brightly in the sky as you made your way down the main street.  Everything was still and peaceful, a stark contrast to what the morning would bring. 

           You shook off the thought as best you could. 

           Not paying attention to where your feet were carrying you, you found yourself standing in the doorway of the stable. Taking pause upon realizing where you were, you contemplated going back to bed, but quickly dismissed the notion. As quietly as you could to walked down the line of pins until you reach your horse, Sally.  She was always a deep comfort to you, which you needed more than ever.  Much to your surprise, she was standing awake and alert when you reached to her.

            “Hey girl,” you said soothingly as you touched your hand to her nose.  “Can’t sleep?”

            She bobbed her head in response.  You smiled a little at that, petting her gently.

            “Yeah, me neither.”

            “You’re not planning on running off are you,” a familiar accented voice called.

           You turned to see Vasquez enter the stable.  From his rumpled shirt and undone vest, you had to guess he was having the same trouble you were.  

           “No,” you answered shortly.  “Are you?”

           Vasquez shook his head no as he walked further into the stable. He came up beside you, looking appraisingly at Sally.

           “May I,” he asked, holding out his hand.

           You gave him a quick glance, and silently nodded.

           With all the care in the world, he placed his hand on Rose’s neck, stroking her with tender care.

           “Good horse,” he commented.

           “Ain’t she just,” you smiled proudly.  “She don’t spook easy neither.  She should be alright for tomorrow.”

           “Will you?”

           You glanced up at him noting how intently he was staring down at you.  It might have been intimidating, if not for the soft look in the corners of his eyes.

           “I’m always twitchy before a fight,” you answered honestly.  “Once the fighting starts, I don’t really have time to think about it.”

           Vasquez nodded his head in understanding, but kept looking at you.  You couldn’t deny the feeling you got whenever he looked at you like that.  You had seen it off and on since arriving in Rose Creek.  It made you a little weak at the knees, like some silly school girl. You would almost be mad at him for making you feel that way, but then he’d just look at you again and all those thoughts went out the window.

           His expression shifted suddenly, so fast you almost didn’t spot it before he turned his head away from you and back to Sally.

           “I think you should stay behind with Mrs. Cullen tomorrow.”

           You blinked away your shock.  “What?”

           Vasquez ignored your comment.  “You’re a good shot.  We need you up with the snipers.”

           “Mrs. Cullen’s got it covered,” you countered.  “Besides, you need at least one sniper on the ground to get the dynamite off, we went over the plan already.”

           “Things changed,” he said turning his head to you.  “Goody’s not here anymore.  You need to be the one in the bell tower.”

           You let you hand drop from Sally and turned to fully face Vasquez, arms crossed. “Chisolm already covered that with Mrs. Cullen.  I’m staying on the ground.”

           “Why do you want to be in the thick of all of this?”

           “Why don’t you want me to be in the thick of it?  Don’t you trust me?”

           “I do trust you,” he emphasized fully facing you as well. “That’s why I’d rather you be in the tower.”

           “As opposed to having your back on the ground?”

           “I can take care of myself.”

           “So can I.”

           He gave an exaggerated groan, running his hand through his hair. “That’s not the point.”

           “Then what is?”

           “I…” he stopped. His jaw clench slightly as if forcing the words, he wanted to say back down his throat. A flurry of emotions ran across his face as you did your best to catch them; desperation, fear, understanding, and a few more you couldn’t name before he looked down at his boots. 

           “I don’t want you to die.”

            The statement hung in the air and along with all the things it implied.

           You searched your mind for something to say. You hadn’t known each other for that long, but you couldn’t deny that you had grown to care for Vasquez as he had done for you. You could even say you rather liked the Mexican outlaw with the charming smile and deadly aim. So much so, the image of him lying dead in the street made the threat to your lives all the more real and truly terrifying.

           “I don’t want you to die either,” you said along with everything it implied.

           Vasquez looked at you, with a surprised look.  He opened his mouth to speak before you interrupted.

           “But,” you continued, “that doesn’t mean I’m not going to let you do your job.  The best chance any of us have on getting out of this is playing our parts, no matter how we feel about it.”

           Vasquez stared down at you as if about to protest, but nodded reluctantly.  He knew you were right.

           “I don’t like it,” he said bitterly.

           “I don’t like it much either,” you admitted. “But, on the other hand, I’d rather be on the ground knowing where you are, than in some tower just guessing.”

           It took him a second, but he nodded in agreement once again.

           A small silence feel between you as you took a moment to look at him.  You never understood why he came to Rose Creek.  Chisolm promised not to turn him in for a reward, but that didn’t seem like enough.  He could have easily shot Chisolm and been on his way, but he decided to join him.  He came, and over the past few week you saw him grow attached to this odd town he had promised to protect and tomorrow, he might die for it.  For strangers. 

           A small smile appeared on your face.

           “You’re a good man Vasquez,” you said softly.

           He laughed at that. “I can think of a few people who’d disagree.”

           “Just an opinion,” you said with a shrug, “you don’t have to take it as gospel.”

           You gave Sally one last pat before walking towards the stable doors.  Just as you were about to pass him, Vasquez reached out and took your hand. You turned to him, surprised.  He didn’t look at you directly, but kept his gentle hold.

           “Stay safe tomorrow,” he said, lightly squeezing your hand as if any sudden movement would break it.

           Your cheeks heated slightly at the gesture, but kept a grip on his hand, not wanting the warmth to leave you just yet.

           “Same goes for you,” you said as you returned the pressure.

           You noticed a small smile cross his lips causing you to smile as well.

           Neither one of you moved.  All that could be heard was the light breeze through the rafters and the quite rustle of hay.

           Never dropping his hand, you walked to him until you stood barely a foot away from him.  Vasquez looked down at you with that same look that made your heart melt.  You thought, for a moment, he might close the gap between you and kiss you, but he didn’t move.

           Tentatively, you reached out with your free hand and cupped his cheek.  He met your hand, covering it with his own, stroking his thumb against your knuckles.

           You were standing even closer now, your chest just touching his with every intake of breath.  All it would take to finally feel his lips on yours would be to lean forward a little, and you wanted to kiss him.  Good God you wanted to, but you hesitated, for the same reason you suspect he did. 

           There was still a fight to be won, along with the very real threat of one of you lying dead in the dirt the next morning. All of this, whatever this was, could come to nothing.  Neither of you wanted to make any promises only for them to be ripped away the next day.  You would wait.  You had to.

           Carefully, you leaned forward and lightly brushed your lips on his cheek.  You closed your eyes, savoring the rough touch while you could.

           “Good night,” you said softly before you slowly pulled away.

           You opened your eyes, and gazed right into his, allowing him to see the unspoken meaning behind your words. 

           He looked down and you, glancing between your lips and your eyes. To your surprise, he didn’t lean in. 

           Keeping eye contact with you, he gently pulled your hand from his cheek and brought the palm to his lips, kissing it tenderly.

           You blushed at the touch, silently cursing yourself for doing so.

           He pulled your hand away, but held his grip, rubbing his thumb absently across one of your fingers.

           “Buenas noches.”

           You almost broke right then and there, but you didn’t move.  His dark eyes bore into you keeping you rooted to the spot.  You felt their warmth spread across your body, starting in your chest and moving all the way down to your toes.  You could had stayed exactly like that for the rest of your life.  His strong coarse hands grasping yours, looking at you like you were the only person in the world who truly mattered.  But it couldn’t last.

           Slowly, reluctantly, you slipped your hands out of his grip and walked out the stable door. 

           You didn’t look back.  You knew the moment you did, you wouldn’t be able to leave.  You needed sleep.  You needed focus.  You didn’t know what the morning would bring, but you knew one thing; Vasquez would not die, not while you were still breathing.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> If you like this, check out my Tumblr blog at https://shenanigans-and-imagines.tumblr.com/
> 
> Request are Open!!!


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